Call system for hostelries



April 5, 1966 F. c. BEILFUSS 3,245,070

CALL SYSTEM FOR HOSTELRIES Filed Feb. 14 1962 S Sheets$heet l INVBNTOR. F/FEEMAA/ a BE/LFl/ if i April 5, 1966 F. c. BEILFUSS CALL SYSTEM FOR HOSTELRIES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 14, 1962 INVENTOR.

1 mam/v c. 55/; F055 April 1966 F. c BEILFUSS 3,245,070

CALL SYSTEM FOR HOSTELRIES Filed Feb. 14, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 3,245,070 CALL SYSTEM FOR HOSTELRIES Freeman C. Beilfuss, Wyoming, Mich., assignor to Call- Boy Systems, Inc., Wyoming, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Feb. 14, 1962, Ser. No. 173,300 4 Claims. (Cl. 340-309.4)

This invention relates to signalling systems, and more particularly to an integrated system for automatically conweying standard signals within the confines of a hostelry such as a hotel or motel.

In the operation of modern motels with hundreds of rooms, considerable problems arise in the timely wakening of many guests at the same hour, in the maintenance of an eflicient housekeeping system which makes the most possible rooms available for rental at the earliest possible time, and in the prompt transmission of messages to absent guests upon their return.

Various systems for solving these problems at least in part have been proposed in the past. However, previous systems have all suffered from one or more of the following defects: (1) excessive cost; (2) total cancellation of all signal programming in the event of even a momentary power failure; (3) inability to frequently check the operability of the room status system whose undetected breakdown could result in costly failure to rent available rooms.

The present invention provides a simple, integrated system requiring a minimum cost of installation and capable of automatically performing each of the following functions: (1) waking guests at a desired hour; (2) advising guests that a message awaits them at the desk; (3) advising the housekeeping unit of the availability of a room for cleaning; (4) advising the housekeeping ofiice each morning of the number of rooms which will have to be cleaned during the workday; (5 advising the housekeeping oifice and the desk which rooms are in the process of being readied for occupancy; (6) advising the housekeeping unit and desk when a room has been cleaned and is ready for occupancy. In addition, an installed system designed in accordance with this invention can be modified to incorporate a fire alarm system without installing additional wiring between the rooms and the desk; and automatic controls for outside lights or other devices can be added to an installed system Without requiring any mechanical or electrical changes therein.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a fully integrated signalling system for multi-room hostelries.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a system which is so arranged that power failure does not cancel out the signal programming set up on it.

It is another object of the invention to provide a room status and availability signalling system whose operability is automatically checked each time it is operated.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a signalling system to which a fire alarm system can be readily added without requiring additional Wiring between desk and rooms.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a clock especially adapted to operate such a system and capable of also furnishing intermittent power for the operation of flashing signalling equipment.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a signalling system which can be used for the automatic switching of accessories Without requiring further clockwork or mechanical or electrical changes of existing equipment.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a perusal of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in -which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of a clock especially adapted to operate the system of this invention; and

FIGS. 2a through 20 when placed side by side constitute FIG. 2, which is an electrical diagram showing the circuitry of this invention.

Basically, the device of this invention includes morning call circuitry in which momentary power impulses created every fifteen minutes by a central clock energize certain bistable relays which in turn operate an alarm system in the rooms connected thereto until such time as the bistable relays are returned to their inactive position by either the guest or the telephone operator. Operation of the morning call unit in the room is signalled back to the operator in the form of steady-state illumination of a visual indicator. Flashing operation of this same indicator occurs in the system of the invention when a flashing message light is operated in the room by a control located at the telephone operators position to advise the guest that a message awaits him at the desk.

v Inasmuch as in a system of this type, a very large number of relays may, under certain conditions, operate simultaneously yet only momentarily, provision is made to energize the relays from a power source whose voltage is considerably higher than the maximum rated continuous voltage of the relay coils. The short duration of the control impulse prevents the relay coils from burning out under the influence of the excess voltage, and the voltage margin permits use of an inexpensive transformer because the relays will still operate even if full-load voltage drops to a fraction of no-load voltage.

Room status and availability signals are transmitted from the room to both the housekeeping office and the registration desk by an associated portion of the system, using two bistable relays for each room. Preferably, the fact that the room is ready for renting is indicated by a visual room status signal of one color which is extinguished at the desk upon registration of a guest. Availability of the room for cleaning is signaled by the desk clerk from the desk to the housekeeping unit, upon checkout of a guest, in the for-m of illumination of a visual availability signal of a different color. When the maid is dispatched to the room, she inserts a special plug into a jack provided in the room, which extinguishes the availability light and relights the status light but in a dim form, while simultaneously connecting a light built into the plug in series with the room status lights to check the proper operation of the system. Upon departure of the maid from the room, withdrawal of the plug causes the status light to return to full brightness, indicating that the room is again available for rental. I-f baggage remains in the room, the maid can extinguish the status light by inserting the plug into a second jack provided for that purpose in the room.

The relays used in the system of this invention are polarized to prevent interaction between relays, and one feature of the present invention takes advantage of this polarization to superimpose a fire alarm circuit on the morning call circuit to allow addition of a fire alarm system to an already existing installation without running additional wiring between the desk and the rooms. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the output of the master clock mechanism is used to operate any desired number of accessory circuits at individually selectable times during the twenty-four hour day.

In the following discussion of the drawings, ordinary numerals indicate components of which only one is used in a typical installation, whereas primed numbers indicate components of which one is provided for each room to be serviced by the system.

FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic view of the master control clock for the system of this invention. The clock 10 has a face 12 with the usual hands 14, 16. The hands 'lished between points '13 andfC (FIG. 2a).

3 1 4, 1 6are driven in the usual way by an electric motor 13 through appropriate gearing 20. A second gear train 22 is provided to revolve the wiper arm 24 once around contact plate 26 every twenty-four hours. Current is supplied to the wiper arm 24 from point A (FIG. 2a) through wiper 28. As the wiper arm 24 revolves, it successively comes into contact with each of the ninetysix stationary contacts 30 on the face of contact plate 26.

A third gear train 32 connects the motor 18 to a pair of earns 34, 36 which rotate as a unit and actuate the switches 38, 40 respectively. It will be noted from FIG. 1 that the actuating shoulders of cams 34, 36 are slightly staggered. Switch '40 is normally closed, whereas switch 38 is normally open. Consequently, during the short interval of time when switch "40 has already ridden over the shoulder of cam 36 into its normal, closed position, but switch 38 has not yet ridden off "the shoulder of cam 34 and is consequently still in its abnormal, closed position, both switches are closed and an electrical circuit is estab- The gearing 32 is such that the cams 3'4, 36 make one revolution every fifteen minutes, andthe differential between cams 34 and '35 is such that the circuit between points 1B and C remains closed for approximately two and one-half seconds for each revolution of the'cams34, 36.

A fourth setof gearing 42'drives the flasher disc '44 at a rate of thirty revolutions perminute. The flasher disc 44 is made of non-magnetic material and carries embedded therein a bar magnet 46. A magnetic switch 48 is mounted 'adja'centthe flasher disc 44 in such a manner that the magnetic switch element closes when the bar magnet 46 approaches the horizontal position shown in FIG. 1, and opens when the bar magnet *46approaches the vertical position. It will be readily seen that this mechanism "closes and opensthe electricalcircuit between points D and E (FIG. Zn) on a one-second cycle. 7

, Continuouselec'trical power is delivered to the motor 18 from points F, G (FIG. 2a). Turning now to FIG. 2a, it will be seen that points F and G correspond, respectively,to the phase wire '50 and ground wire 52 of a commercialAC. power source 54. A pair of autotransformers '56, 58 are connected directly acrossthe the AC. source 54. The variable taps 60, 62 of'transformers 56, 58 may tap off, in a typical installation, voltages of twentyfour volts AC. and fifty volts A.C., res-pectively, with respect to ground wire '52. Transformer 56 must have sufficient current rating to substantially maintain'its set output voltage under the maximum load of pilot lights and buzzers reasonably expected to he encountered in the operation of the system. Transformer 58, on the other hand, canhave very'poor current regulation for the reasons described hereinabove in connection with the basic functioning of the device, and therefore "needs to have only a fraction of the current ratingnecessary for the simultaneous operation of the number of relays which can normally be expected to "be operated at one time. Point E is connected to the output line 64 of transformer 56, and point D represents the flasher output wire 66. Consequently, it will be seen that the following voltages are available in'the'system with respect to ground wire 52: fifty volts continuous AC. power on wire 68; twentyfour volts continuous AC. power on wire 64; and twentyfour volts intermittent AC. power on wire 66.

For the purposes of the following description, the drawing has been subdivided into blocks outlined by dot-dash lines, the blocks representing the following components: the clock and power supply panel 70, one unit 72 of a plurality of selector panel units, and one unit 74 of a plurality of fire alarm panel units, all preferably located at the telephone operators position; one unit 76 of a plurality of relay box panel units located at any convenient place; one unit 78 of a plurality of room status panel units located at the registration desk; one unit 80' of a plurality of room status units located at the housekeeping Q fice; one panel 82 of a plurality of room panels; one

time on the selector panel unit 72.

unit 84' of a plurality of fire detector units located in the guest rooms; and one accessory panel 86 preferably located adjacent the clock panel 70. In the drawings, a portion 88 has been divided from the unit 72 by dashdouble dot lines to indicate a portion of a selector panel common to several of the units 72. The same thing is indicated by the dash-double dot line which divides the portion 90 from the unit 86, as the portion 90 may be common to several units 86 if a plurality of accessories are to be automatically operated by the clock 10. Likewise, the portion 270 of fire alarm panel unit 74 may be common to all units 74'.

Morning call The morning'call portion ofthe apparatus functions as follows: when a guest requests a call for a specific time o f the morning, the telephone operator sets the desired The unit 72' corresponds to a given room, and similar units 72' are provided for each of the other rooms in the hos'telry. The

operator sets up the morning call by first adjusting quaterhour selectorswitch 92 to the desired quarter hour (as a practical matter, guests almost never request a'call at any time other than a fullqua'rter hour, and those that'do are so few in number that their request can {be manually taken care of by the telephone operator). Next, the desired hour is 'setby adjusting hour selector switch94. It will be noted that the hour selector switch 94' has only five contacts corresponding to the hours 4 to 8 am. The 30 I reason torthis arrangement is that practically all morning calls normally requeste-d'in a hotel or motel lie between 4 rim. and 8:45 am. In the very'rare instances'in which a call is left for atime outside that range, the call may either be taken care of manually, or the quarter-hour selector switch'92' may beset to contact X for control of the morning call mechanism by a special twenty-four hour selector'device 96to be discussed hereinafter. v

Eac'h'of the .contacts'4 through8 of hour selector switch 94' is conn'eoted'to one of the switch arms98a' through 98a of the five-gang 'qu'arter hour selector switch 92. Each of'the contacts of section e of quarter hour selector switch 22', exceptthe X and Off contacts, is connected to oneof'the wires ofwire group '100'in the portiontiS of the selector panel. By tracing wire group 100 back to clock panel 70, it will be seen that the wires of this group are connected to the four contacts 30 on the contact plate 26 corresponding to 8 a.m.,8:l5 am, 8:30 a.rn., and 8:45 am. respectively. Likewise, the four middle contacts of section a'of quarter-hourselector switch 92' are connected to wire group 102 in portion 88 of the selector panel, which is traceable back to the cont-acts 30 corresponding to the quarter hours from 4 am. to 4:45 am.

It will be remembered at'this point clock motor 18 drives cams 34, 36 at a speed of one revolution every fil teen minutes. The cams 34, '36 are so adjusted that exactly on every full quarter hour, the switches 38 and 40 are simiultaneously closed for about two and one-half seconds. During this short interval, an electric circuit is established from wire 64 through the heater of delay relay 104 and switches'40 and 38 to the ground wire 52. The heater of relay 104 thereupon heats up and, after approximately two seconds, closes the contacts 106. This grounds point A. About one-half second later, switch 38 opens, the heater of relay 104 is deprived of power,'and the contacts 106 reopen. 'Consequently, it will be seen that point A is grounded every fifteen minutes for approximately one-half second. The reason for the delay relay 104 is not to obtain a delayed action, but rather to efiect the grounding of point A through contacts 106 located in a vacuum, as the momentary grounding of point A can result in a tremendous transient current surge with the consequent possibility of severe arcing.

Assuming now that a guest has left a call for 8:30 a.m. and that the switches 92' and 94' have been appropriately set, an electrical circuit is established as followsz from wire 68 (which is the fifty volt power supply) through wire 108, diode 1 junction 1:12, on coil 114' of bistable relay 116', wire 118', the switch arm of hour se lector switch 94', wire 120, section e of quarter-hour selector switch 2', switch arm 98:2, wire 1M, wire 124 of group 100, contact 30 corresponding to 8:30 a.m. on contact plate 2-6, wiper arm 24, point A, and contacts 106 to ground wire 52. This momentary current impulse causes contact 126 of bistable relay 116 to close. This in turn establishes a second electrical circuit from wire 64 through wire 128, contact 126, wire 130', the lower arm of message switch 132, wire 134', the upper arm of message switch 132, wire 136 of cable II, terminal 4 of the room panel 82', morning call light 1'38, and morning call buzzer 140' in parallel, wire 142, and terminal 7' of the room panel 82' to ground wire 52 of cable II. It will be seen that this circuit causes the morning call light 188 and the buzzer 140' in the room panel 82' to operate continuously. Preferably, the light 138 is white and of suflicient intensity to illuminate the room panel 82 and the surrounding area, or even the entire room, at a light level sufficient to enable the guest to see any obstacles between the bed and the room panel 82', for convenience and safety.

The operation of the morning call signal is relayed back to the selector panel by the simultaneous illumination of push button 144' on the selector panel unit 72 through a circuit beginning at wire 134 and continuing through wire 146' and the pilot light Within push button 144' to ground wire 52.

When the guest has awakened, he can silence the morn ing call mechanism by pushing cancel button 14-6. This establishes a circuit from power supply wire 68 through wire 108, diode 11G, junction 112, off coil 148" of bistable relay 1116, diode 150', wire 152' of cable II, terminal 5 of room panel 8%, diode 154 and cancel button 146' to the ground connection 142' of room panel 82, which in turn is connected to the ground wire 52 of cable I. This causes the contacts 126' of bistable relay 116' to open, thereby interrupting the circuit of the morning call mechanism. Because the opening of contacts 126' deprives Wire 130 of current, .the silencing of the morning call by the guest also extinguishes the light in push button i144 on the selector panel. The telephone operator is thus advised that the guest has answered his call. if, for some reason, the guest fails to answer the morning call (having perhaps checked out before it was energized), the operator can cancel it from the selector panel by depressing push button 144'. This establishes a circuit from diode 150 through diode 1 56 and contacts 158 of push button 144 to the ground wire 52. The effect of this latter circuit is the same as that caused by depressing cancel button 146 on room panel 82.

In the event that, under special circumstances, it is desired to set an automatic morning call for a time outside of the range of selector switches 92', 94, the selector switch 92' is set to position X. Arm 98a then connects wire 120' to wire 159 through contact X. Wire 159 is in turn connected to wire 161 which leads to the switch arm of twenty-four hour selector switch 163 of the special selector 96. Each of the contacts of twenty-four hour selector switch 163 is connected to one oi the switch arms 165a through 165x of the twenty-four-gang quarter-hour selector switch 167. The ninety-six contacts of the twenty-four gangs of switch 167 are individually connected to the ninety-six contacts 30 of the contact plate 26 of clock 16. Thus it will be seen that appropriate adjustment of switches 163, 167 of selector 96 permits momentary grounding of wire 16 1 at any desired quarter hour of the day or night.

Inasmuch as all selector switches 92' have an X contact, it is of course possible to operate the morning call in any desired number of rooms for trunk X. Additional such trunks may of course be provided for greater flexibility of the system; or in the alternative, all the selector switches 94' may have a twenty-four hour range, thereby eliminating the necessity for the trunk X and selector 96.

When selector switch 92' is in the X position, it will be readily seen that the position of selector switch 94 is immaterial, as all the X contacts of selector switch 92' are connected together by wire 159'.

The morning call for any given room can be disconnected in an obvious manner by turning selector switch 92' associated with that room to the oil? position.

Message light It the telephone operator is unable to reach the guest in his room and wishes to advise him upon his return that a message is awaiting him, she moves the message light switch 132' on selector pan-e1 unit 72' to its lower position in FIG. 2. This establishes a circuit from the twenty- -four volt intermittent power supply wire 66 through the upper arm of message light switch 132', wire 134', the lower arm of message light switch 132', wire 158' of cable II, terminal 6 of the room panel 82', message light 160' and wire 142 to the ground wire 52 of cable II. Consequently, mes-sage light 160 on the room panel 82' will be intermittently illuminated, i.e. it will flash with a -one second cycle. Simultaneously, a circuit is established from the upper arm of message light switch 132' through wire 146' and the pilot light in push button 144' to ground wire 52. Consequently, the light in push button 144' will also flash. The message light 160 on room panel 82' is preferably of a color readily distinguishable from morning call light 138, ie red. When the guest returns to his room and notices the flashing message light 160', he calls the telephone operator for his message. The telephone operator thereupon gives him the message and returns message light switch 132 to its upper position in FIG 2.

Room status and availability In order to permit immediate up-to-the-minute information of the desk clerk as to the status and availability of rooms, the registration desk is equipped with a panel having tW-o illuminated push buttons of distinctive colors for each room serviced by the system. A component unit of this panel corresponding to one room is depicted in FIG. 2 as 78. If the room corresponding to the unit 78' is unoccupied and ready to be rented, push button 162' is illuminated and push button 164' is dark. As a matter of illustration, the push button 162' may for example be green, and the push button 164' may for example be yellow. The illumination of green button 162' is accomplished by the following circuit: from twenty-four volt continuous power supply wire '64 through the pilot light in push button 162', wire 166, contact 168' of bistable relay 170' (contact 168 is closed in this condition), wire 172', terminal 2' of relay box panel unit 76, cable I, terminal 2' of room panel -82, wire 174', contact 176 of jack 178, contact 180' of jack 178', and wire 142' to ground wire 52 of cable II. Simultaneously, a green pilot light 182 is illuminated on the housekeeper panel unit 80' by a parallel circuit from wire 64 through pilot light 182. wire 1184', cable IV and wire 186' to contact 168 of bistable relay 170'.

When a guest checks in, the desk clerk depresses the green push button 162' so as to close contacts 188'. This closes a circuit from the fifty v-olt continuous power supply wire 68 in the relay box panel unit 76 through diode 190', off coil 192' of bistable relay 170', wire 194', contacts 188 and Wire 196' to ground wire 52. As a result, the pilot light in push button 162' and the green pilot light 182' on the housekeepers panel go out because the energization of off coil 192 of bistable relay 170 opens contacts 168' and thereby breaks the ground connection of both pilot lights.

When the guest checks out the following day, the desk clerk depresses the yellow push button 164'. This closes contacts 198 and establishes the following circuit: from power supply wire 68 in the relay box panel unit 76' through diode 260', on coil 20-2 of bistable relay 20ft, wire 206, contacts 198', and wire-208' to ground wire 52. The momentary energization of on coil 202' causes contact 210" of bistable relay 204' to close. This establishes a circuit from the twenty-four volt continuouspower supply wire 64 in the registration desk panel unit 78' through the pilot light in the yellow push button 164', wire 212', and contact 210 of relay 204' to the ground wire 52. Simultaneously, another circuit is established from supply wire 64. in the housekeeper panel unit 80 through the yellow pilot light 214, wire 216', cable TV. wire 218, wire 212', and contact 210 of relay 2% to ground. Thusit will be seen that depressing the yellow push button 164' causes the yell-ow pilot lights corresponding to the room involved to light up on the registration. desk panel unit 78'. and the housekeepers panel unit 80 The appearance of. the yellow. light on the housekeepers panel unit 80' signals the housekeeping manager to dispatch .a maid tothe room in, question. Upon her arrival, the. maid inserts the large end 22% of the portable plug 222, which she carries with her, into jack 178 of the room panel 82. As the bulb 224 on the tip of portion, 220 of plug 222 moves past the trough 226 of contact 176, the mechanical action of contact 176' momentarily liftscontact 228 to the point where it touches contact 230. During this instant when contacts 228 and 230 of jack 178' touch each other, a circuit is established from the fifty volt power supply Wirer68 in relay box panel unit 76' through diode 200., off coil 232 of bistable relay 204', wire 234, cable I, wire 236, contacts 228 and 230, and wire 142' to the ground wire 52. Simultaneously, a circuit is established from wire 68 through diode 190', on coil 238 of bistable relay 170' and wire 240 to wire 234 and from thereto ground in the same manner. The energization of o coil 232 causes contacts 210' of relay 204' to open, while the energization of on coil 238' of bistable relay 170' causes contact 168' of relay 170' to close.

The opening of contact 210 breaks the ground connection for the yellow pilot lights 164. and 214', and the closing of contact 168 closes the ground connection of the green pilot lights 162 and 182' as far as contact 176 of jack 178'. At this moment, however, the tip of plug 222 has already lifted contact 176 away from con tact 180". Consequently, contact 176' at this moment is no longer directly grounded through contact 180, but rather through the tip of plug222, internal wire 242 in portion 220 of plug 222, pilot light 244 in the body of plug 222, the shank 246 of portion 220 of plug 222, and ground ring 248 of jack 178. Consequently, the green pilot lights 162' and 182 are now connected to ground not directly, but in series with the pilot light 244 in the body of plug 222. As a result, the pilot lights 162' and 182' are much dimmer in this condition than they were when the room was available for rent. At the same time, the lighting of the pilot light 244 in the plug 222 assures the maid that pilot lights 162 and 182 are operating. If either the pilot light 162 or the pilot light 182' is burned out, the pilot light 244 in plug 222 will be unusually dim, and the maid is in a position to advise the desk that repairs are necessary.

As the plug 222 is pushed all the way into jack 178-, the trough 226 of contact 176 drops into the groove 250 of the tip of plug 222, and contacts 228 and 230 once again separate. This is necessary to prevent the continuous application of the excessive voltage in wire 68 to off coil 232'.

When the maid has finished cleaning the room, she withdraws plug 222 from jack 178, and contact 176' is once again allowed to touch contact 180'. This causes the green pilot lights 162 and 182' to return to their normal full brightness. If the maid notes that there is baggage in the room, she reverses the plug 222 and inserts the small end 252 into jack 254'. The tip 256 of the small end 252 and its shank 258 are connected together by a wire 260 internally of plug 222. Insertion of the small end 252 in jack 254 consequently connects contact 262 to ground ring 264 and closes a circuit from power supply wire 68 in relay box panel unit 76' through diode 190', off coil 192' of bistable relay wire 266', cable 1, wire 263', contact 262', elements 256, 260, 258 the plug 222, and ground ring 264' to wire 142', which is the gorund connection of room panel 82. This has the same effect as depressing green push button 162' on the. registration desk panel unit 78', i.e. it will extinguish the. green pilot lights 162 and 182.

It will be seen from the above description that a bright green light on the registration desk panel or housekeeping panel indicates that the room associated therewith is available to rent; a dim green light indicates that the room is in the process of being cleaned and will very shortly be available; and a yellow light means that the room has been vacated but has not yet been cleaned. The absence of any light indicates, of course, that the room is occupied. With the system described, the housekeeping manager can tell by one glance at her. panel when she comes on duty in the early morning hours how many rooms are occupied and will consequently have to be cleaned during the day. She can thus make arrangements to have a sufficient number of maids on hand during the working day. When a guest checks out, this fact is immediately signalled to the housekeeping manager by the appearance of a yellow light. By checking the dim green lights on her panel, the houskeeping manager can then determine where the nearest maid is, and she can then call the maid and instruct her to clean the newly vacated. room next. If necessary, this system allows the housekeeping manager to dispatch a maid to check a newly vacated rom for pilferage before the guest has had time to pay his bill and leave the premises.

Fire alarm The system of this invention is uniquely suitable for the concurrent or subsequent installation of a fire alarm system without requiring any additional wiring betweenthe rooms and the offices of the hostelry. FIG. 2 shows a fire detector unit 84', placed in the room and connected to terminals 5 and 7' of the room panel 82'. A fire alarm panel may be located at the telephone operators position adjacent the selector panel and may consist of as many units 74? as there are rooms. The fire alarm panel may have a section 270 common to all units 74'.

The operation of the fire alarm system is as folows: It will be remembered that the power supplies 64, 66 and 68 are all of the alternating current variety. Throughout the description of the system so far, it has always been assumed that the diodes are so oriented that they are in the forward or conducting condition when the power supply wire 64, 66, or 68 is positive with respect to the ground wire 52. Consequently, current flows in the relay circuits described so far only during these half cycles. During the other half-cycles of the alternating current supply, ie when ground is positive with respect to the power supply wires, the system described so far is inoperative. The fire alarm system takes advantage of this half-cycle break in the operation of the main system and utilizes the dead half-cycles for its own operation.

When the sensing element of the fire detector unit 84' is actuated by excessive heat or other factors associated with a fire, it closes the switch 272'. This establishes a circuit in which current flows from ground wire 142 through wire 27 4', switch 27 2, wire 2'76, wire 278 terminal S of room panel 82', wire 152 of cable 11, wire 280', wire 282, cable VI, diode 284' and the coil .286 of relay 288 to the twenty-four volt continuous, power supply wire 64. The resulting energization of relay coil 286' moves the contacts 298, 292 and 294' of relay 288' to the left in FIG. 2. 'llhis establishes the following circuits: first, from flashing power supply wire 66 through contact 292 and pilot light 296' to ground wire 52; second, from flash;

ing power supply wire 66 through contact 294' to the alarm horn 298 and from there to the ground wire 52; third, from flashing power supply wire 66 through contact 290' and switch 300', wire 302', cable VI, wire 136' of cable II, terminal 4 of room panel 82' and morning call light 138 and buzzer 140' in parallel to ground wire 142'. It should be noted that there is only one alarm horn 298 for the entire fire alarm system, but that there 'is a separate pilot light 296' for each room. Consequently, when the fire alarm horn sounds series of short blasts, a flashing light 296' on the fire alarm control panel will indicate the room in which the fire has occurred. At the same time, the morning call apparatus in the affected room sounds intermittently to alert the guest.

If the telephone operator wishes to alert guests in other rooms, she can throw the switches 300' associated with these rooms to their rightdland position in FIG. 2. This connects the morning call apparatus in these rooms directly to the source of flashing power 66, independently of the operation of the relays Z88 associated with these rooms. It will be understood that these switches 300' may be individually operable for each room, or they may be tied together by appropriate mechanical means so that the switches for an entire wing or for the entire hostelry may be thrown simultaneously. If desired, the alarm relay 288 may be connected in a well-known manner so as to lock itself in until it is manually released. In that case, the alarm continues to operate even though the fire detector wiring in the affected room is destroyed.

Accessory switching If desired, any number of accessory circuits (outside lights, burglar alarm, pool surveillance equipment, etc.) may be switched on and off at any desired quarter hour of the twenty-four hour day by connecting one or more accessory panels 86 to the clock panel 70. Eachaccessory panel 86 has a pair of hour switches 304, 306 and a pair of quarter-hour selector switches 308, 310. The switch sets 304, 308 and 306, 310 respectively are connected to the contacts 30 on contact plate 26 of the clock in the same manner as the switch 163, 167 of selector 96 previ ously described herein in the section relating to the morning call system. The switch set 304, 308 serves to ground the on coil 312 of bistable relay 314 at a selectable hour, and the switch set 306, 310 serves to ground the off coil 316 of relay 314 at another selectable hour. Operating power is supplied to the relay 314 from wire 68 through diode 318.

Suitable power for the accessory to be switched may be introduced into the accessory panel through terminals 320, and the accessory may be connected to the output terminals 322. A function switch 324 is connected between the terminals 320 and 322 in a well-known manner to connect the terminal 320 directly to the terminal 322 in its left-hand (in FIG. 2) on position, disconmeet the terminals 320 from the terminals 322 in its right hand ofl position, or connect the terminals 320 to the terminals 322 in its center or automatic position through the contacts 326 operated by the bistable relay 3L4. Consequently, when the function switch 324 is set to the center or automatic position, the accessory will be energized at the time set on the switches 304, 308, and will be de-ener-gized at the time set on the switches 306, 310.

Summary It will be seen that the present invention provides an extremely versatile and eflective signalling system for hostelries which can be readily expanded to cover as many rooms as may be desired. Obviously, the concepts taught by this invention can be carried out in a variety of ways, of which the embodiment described herein is merely illustrative. Therefore, the invention is not to be deemed limited by the embodiment shown, but rather only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A combined guest call and fire alarm system for hostelries having an otfice and at least one guest room comprising:

a source of alternating current pulses;

a bistable switching device associated with said source having activating and deactivating inputs;

first circuitry means including a clock for selectively chronologically activating said bistable switching device;

a deactivation switch in said guest room;

second circuitry means associated with said deactiv-ating input, said deactivating switch, and said source including a first conductor between said oflice and said guest room for deactivating said first switching device when said deactivation switch is closed, said second circuitry means containing a unidirectional conducting means [for energizing said deactivation input only during the positive portions of said alternating current pulses;

a fire warning signal in said oflice;

a heat sensitive fire detector switch in said guest room;

third circuitry means associated with said fire warning signal, said fire detector switch and said conductor for transmitting a fire signal over said first conductor to said warning signal when said detector switch is closed, said third circuitry means including a unidirectional conducting means for energizing said warning signal only during the negative portions of said alternating current pulses.

2. A combined guest call and fire alarm system for hostelries having an oifice and at least one guest room comprising:

a source of alternating current pulses in said oflice;

a bistable switching device located in said oflice having activating and deactivating inputs and a first pair of contacts, one of said first pair of contacts being connected to said source;

a ground conductor between said source and said guest room;

a grounded combination warning and awakening device in said guest room;

a first conductor connecting the input of said combination warning and awakening device to the other of said first pair of contacts on said bistable switching device;

first means including a clock for chronologically cornpleting a circuit from said source, through said bistable switching device activating input to ground whereby said first pair of contacts is closed and said combination warning and awakening device is activated;

a deactivation switch in said guest room having two terminals, one of said terminals being connected to said ground conductor;

a second conductor connecting the other terminal of said deactivation switch to the deactivation input of said bistable switching device;

first unidirectional conducting means for completing a circuit from said source through said deactivation input, said second conductor, and said deactivation switch when closed to ground during only the positive portions of said alternating current pulses whereby said first pair of contacts is opened, and said combination warning and awakening device is deactivated;

a second switching device in said ofiice having a holding input and a second pair of contacts, one of said second pair of contacts being connected to said source and the other being connected to said first conductor;

a fire detector switch in said guest room having one grounded contact; and

second unidirectional conducting means for completing a circuit from said source, through said holding input, said second conductor and said fire detector switch when closed to ground only during the negative portion of the alternating current pulses whereby said second pair of contacts is closed and said warning and awakening device is activated.

3. The combination as set forth in c1airn-2 which further comprises:

means for signalling the oflice when said fire detector switch is closed.

4. A combined guest call and fire alarm system for hostelries having an office and at least one guest room comprising:

a source of alternating current pulses in said office;

a bistable relay in said ofiice, said bistable relay having activating and deactivating coils and a first pair of contacts, one of said firstpair of contacts being connected to said source;

a ground conductor between saidsource and said guest room;

a grounded combination warning and awakeningdevice in said guest room;

a first conductor connecting the input of said combination warning and awakening device to the other of said first pair of contacts on said bistable relay;

first means including a clock-for chronologically completing a circuit from said sourcethroughsaid bistable relay activatingcoil to groundwhereby said first pair of contacts is closed and said combination warning and awakening device is activated, said first means also including diode means for limiting conduction of the circuit to the positive portion of the alternating current pulses;

a deactivation switch in said guest room having two terminals, one of said terminals being connected to said ground conductor;

a second conductor connecting theo-ther terminal of said deactivation switch tothe deactivation coil of said bistable relay;

first unidirectional conducting means-for completing a circuit from said source, through said deactivation coil, said second conductor, and said deactivation switch when closed toground during only the positive portions of the alternating current pulses, Whereby said first pair OffCOl'llIflCtS is opened and said combination warning :and awakening device is deactivated;

second relay located in said office having. aholding coil and a second pair of contacts, one of said sec-, end-pair of contacts beingconnected to said source and the other being connected to said first conductor;

a fire detector switch having one grounded contact located in said guest room; and

second unidirectional conducting means for completing a circuit from said source, through said holding coil, said second conductor and said fire detector switch when closed to ground only during the negative portion ofnthe alternating current pulses, whereby said second pair of contacts is closed and said warning and awakening device is activated.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 341,909 5/1886 Hess 340227 577,128 2/ 1 897 'Feuerstein 340286 933,412 9/1909 Baker 340-286 1,189,657 7/ 1916 Brinkmann 340-286 1,327,837 1/1920 Muschenheim 340286 1,370,059 3/ 1921 Smith 340309.4 1,460,887 10/1923 Burleigh 340--309.4 2,124,490 7/1938 Johnson 340-3094 2,367,522 1/1945 Pfleger 340-176 2,441,557 5/1948 Bowne 340-476 2,489,213 11/ 1949 Addori-sio 340 -286 2,501,274 3/1950 Hamilton '307--141.8 2,560,803 7/1951 Landells 307-141.8 2,605,342 7/ 1952 Spurling 340-227 2,833,940 5/1958 Harris 307-112 2,848,630 8/1958 McNicOl 307112 2,891,175 6/1959 Thieman et al. 307-112 2,892,132 6/1959 Mallory 340-176 X 2,895,125 7/1959 Watts 340-227 2,916,730 1 2/ 1959 Johnson 340 -227 2,980,890 4/ 1961 Staten 340286 X -2,982,949 5/ 196 1 Pivetz 340-227 3,008,132 6/1961 Conigliaro 340-281 3,083,358 3/1963 Stonor 340- 227 FOREIGN PATENTS 314,112 '6/ 1929 Great Britain.

NEIL C. READ, Primary Examiner.

I. PITTS, R. M. GOLDMAN, AssistanLExam'i/zers. 

1. A CONBINED GUEST CALL AND FIRE ALARM SYSTEM FOR HOSTELRIES HAVING AN OFFICE AND AT LEAST ONE GUEST ROOM COMPRISING: A SOURCE OF ALTERNATING CURRENT PULSES; A BISTABLE SWITCHING DEVICE ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SOURCE HAVING ACTIVATING ND DEACTIVATING INPUTS; FIRST CIRCUITRY MEANS INCLUDING A CLOCK FOR SELECTIVELY CHRONOLOGICALLY ACTIVATING SAID BISTABLE SWITCHING DEVICE; A DEACTIVATION SWITCH IN SAID GUEST ROOM; SECOND CIRCUITRY MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DIACTIVATING INPUT, SAID DEACTIVATING SWITCH, AND SAID SOURCE INCLUDING A FIRST CONDUCTOR BETWEEN SAID OFFICE AND SAID GUEST ROOM FOR DEACTIVATING SAID FIRST SWITCHING DEVICE WHEN SAID DEACTIVATION SWITCH IS CLOSED, SAID SECOND CIRCUITRY MEANS CONTAINING A UNIDIRECTIONAL CONDUCTING MEANS FOR ENERGIZING SAID DEACTIVATION INPUT ONLY DURING THE POSITIVE PORTIONS OF SAID ALTERNATING CURRENT PULSES; A FIRE WARNING SIGNAL IN SAID OFFICE; A HEAT SENSITIVE FIRE DETECTOR SWITCH IN SAID GUEST ROOM; THIRD CIRCUITRY MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID FIRE WARNING SIGNAL, SAID FIRE DTECTOR SWITCH AND SAID CONDUCTOR FOR TRANSMITTING A FIRE SIGNAL OVER SAID FIRST CONDUCTOR TO SAID WARNING SIGNAL WHEN SAID DETECTOR SWITCH IS CLOSED, SAID THIRD CIRCUITRY MEANS INCLUDING A UNIDIRECTIONAL CONDUCTING MEANS FOR ENERGIZING SAID WARNING SIGNAL ONLY DURING THE NEGATIVE PORTIONS OF SAID ALTERNATING CURRENT PULSES. 